UC Irvine is 27,970 gifts strong despite bad economy

 

Private giving at the University of California, Irvine remains surprisingly strong despite the weak economy with 27,970 donations being made to the campus last year, the largest number ever.  

 

“In this economy, this is a huge win,” said Tom Mitchell, UC Irvine’s Vice Chancellor of University Advancement. “Despite the challenging economy, UC Irvine's alumni and friends provided the university with the greatest number of overall gifts in the university's history.”  

 

“That demonstrates the generosity and strong commitment of people for our campus,” Mitchell said.  The number of individual gifts received by UC Irvine’s alumni and friends totaled 27,970, just surpassing last year’s record-setting year.

 

At a June 4 meeting of the University of California, Irvine Foundation Board of Trustees and  Chancellor Michael Drake celebrate the completion of UC Irvine’s $50 million new hospital fundraising campaign -- a major initiative within the campus' $1 billion "Shaping the Future" campaign.

While more people than ever are making donations to UC Irvine, cash gifts dipped 17 percent compared to the previous year totaling $76 million compared to $92 million. Most campuses across the United States are reporting similar, or larger, declines in fundraising this year.

 

Although lower than UC Irvine’s record-setting fiscal year 2008 commitments and cash gifts total of $130 million, this past year’s total of $83.8 million is the fourth highest in UC Irvine history.

 

“In light of the huge economic impact on people across the United States, in California and Orange County, our donors continue to be very generous,” Mitchell added. “They are very committed to UC Irvine’s pioneering work to advance medicine, create innovations in energy and the environment, and prepare young people to lead in a global community.”

 

The university continues to successfully advance its $1-billion fundraising campaign, which is approaching the midway mark of $500 million in the first four years of the university’s campaign. The campus publicly launched its $1-billion comprehensive fundraising campaign on Oct. 4, 2008. It will conclude in 2015.

 

“This has been one of the most challenging years in philanthropic history,” Mitchell said. “The stock market went down more than 53 percent from its high in September 2007 to its low in March 2009, and down 42 percent from September 2008 to March 2009.” Approximately 70 percent of UC Irvine’s donations come from gifts of $1 million or more, and many of these gifts are funded with highly appreciated stock.

 

The economic downturn has affected donors’ philanthropic commitments to the campus this year – a trend that could continue in the coming year.

 

Mitchell said that while the uncertainty of the stock market and other investments options affects people considering making larger long-term gift commitments, the fact that the number of individual gifts to UC Irvine has set a new record demonstrates the strong relationship and commitment that the campus has with its alumni and friends, and local community leaders and organizations.